Companies Predict 2026 Will Be the Worst College Grad Job Market in Five Years

Hires from the Class of 2026 will stay largely flat, employers project, as layoffs rise and AI is able to do more entry-level tasks

By Lindsay Ellis of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"Six months out from graduation season, more than half of 183 employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers rate the job market for the Class of 2026 as poor or fair."

"The unemployment rate for recent college graduates was 4.8% in June, greater than overall unemployment that month and the highest June level for recent graduates in four years, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysis."

"employers say they expect a 1.6% increase in hiring for the Class of 2026, down considerably from their plans for the Class of 2025 last fall"

"The early-career job-search platform Handshake found that in August, full-time job postings had declined more than 16% year-over-year, and there are an average of 26% more applications per job."

"employers are falling into three buckets. Some have paused hiring amid economic uncertainty, some have laid off staff in the name of efficiency and some are growing modestly."

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